November 2010 — The cosmic Jewel Box

Star clusters are among the most visually alluring and astrophysically fascinating objects in the sky. One of the most spectacular star clusters nestles deep in the southern skies near the Southern Cross in the constellation of Crux. ESO’s Very Large Telescope was used to take this exquisitely sharp close-up view of the colourful Jewel Box cluster, NGC 4755 — one of the best ever taken of this cluster from the ground. The telescope’s huge mirror allowed very short exposure times: just 2.6 seconds through a blue filter, 1.3 seconds through a yellow/green filter and 1.3 seconds through a red filter.